I think maybe I let it get too big but I can't bear to cut it off and throw the pieces away. This was given to me about 5 years ago because it was "too much trouble" to take care of. With the help of a very brave friend it was given a bigger pot with new soil and now it is twice the size it was and I can no longer see the trunk. It is a very old plant and blooms like crazy every year but do I try to repot again or what?
Since no one has chimed in to help yet, I thought hap hazard suggestions would be better than no suggestions *lol*
Please, someone who has some real experience in these help me out.
First, let me say, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLANT!
OK....IF it was my plant this is what I would do.
First, if I had the room and a place to display it correctly and it was still blooming fine...I would leave it alone. A nice large pedestal would look perfect under that.
Second, if I absolutely DIDN'T have the room to keep it as large as it is I would put a large old sheet or blanket down on the kitchen floor and ask hubby to help me remove it from it's pot. Once removed, sit on the floor with it and check the roots out.....are they real long? Could they use a trim?.....Root pruning is great for plants.
Then, once it's out of the pot you have many choices. You can see if it's only one trunk or if there are many trunks in the pot. If there are many trunks in the pot you can separate them into 2 piles and have 2 very niced sized plants of this for yourself or keep a few trunks for yourself and pot the others individually for trades for other plants that you may want.
Another option would be.....If you had the space and patience.
Leave it in its pot and go around and "prune it". Dont just cut one or two leaves, try to cut "segments" which contain a thick part of the "branch". Let these "callous" over by just leaving them to air dry for a day or two (I would suggest a couple days). Then, plant them in a very well draining material. I mix cactus sand with lots of perlite. Don't water them too much....mist them real good to only get the top 1/4 inch of soil wet as too much water will turn them to mush. In about a month or so they should develop enough roots to make it on their own (I usually check to see if they are rooted by giving a slight tug). If they resist, they have rooted. If they don't resist I usually take a fork and "lift" them to be sure they are not rotting below. Should you have one or two that show signs of mush....cut the mush off until firm....let it callous for a couple days and try again.
Is this a Thanksgiving/Christmas Cactus? What color does it bloom?
I have a large one that I have had for 8 or 9 years. Although it's big and full it doesn't look ANYTHING like yours as far as size goes! You must be growing it in PERFECT conditions. Here is a shot of mine that I took yesterday. This year it's going to bloom before Halloween and I think that's because I put it outside this year for the first time. I grow mine in a pot with no drain holes which is a no no with these but I'm extremely careful about watering and these seem to be quite forgiving for me (luckily)
Please remember....my advice is only what I would do if this were MY plant....I honestly just "wing" it when it comes to my plants so maybe an expert on succulents will give you completely different advice and if so, take their advice OK? I just thought some ideas might help.
Kim
This message was edited Oct 14, 2006 8:20 AM
Dear Lord, that's a HUGE Holiday Cactus. Oh my goodness! What color does it bloom? WOW!!!
GH
Oh yeah,
I wanted to add....
If you didn't want to bother with the rooting time/space I'm sure that once your pruned it you could always offer the unrooted segments to trade for other plants that you may want. Most people on the C&S are used to rooting their own plants.
Then you wouldn't even have to bother with that step.
Do you have a picture of it in bloom? If so, I would LOVE to see it.
Kim
Thank you both so much for the positive feedback. I don't have pictures but will get some this year. It is a very bright pink in color. It has only one trunk about 5" across and several very large early branches. It lives outside year round in a gazebo converted to a "grow house" -- clear roof, clear walls on East, North and West sides and plywood on the south for shade. I guess since it still seems to bloom well I am O.K. with just maintaining it. Guess you would call it a Christmas cactus since thats when it seems to bloom most, but I have had it continue to bloom from early December until almost 4th of July a couple of years. From what I was told by the lady who gave it to me (it was way pot bound and pitiful) this plant is probably about 50 years old. It has been handed around a lot in the past because it got too big for the house and no one wanted it. The lady who gave it to me owns a nursery and didn't want it cause it was so big and she had no room for it. I gave her an empty pot in exchange. I think I got the best of the deal!!
Kim is right; offer to others cuttings. Im sure u wont have any problems trading it. U can put me on top of that list......... :)
I say sell it to someone who can appreciate a specimen that has not been hacked to death. Auction it or something. Please don't start whacking on it for cuttings. Frank
Wow, that is a big plant. One of my neighbors has one similar in size that belonged to her grandmother...
This is the real Christmas Cactus ( buckleyi ) and you can tell that by the edges of the segments, they don't have the sharp points like the Thanksgiving cacti. This plant is difficult to find in stores now, you rarely if ever come across them. If it has been repotted recently, I would shape it. The poster above me is right, these old plants have alot of charactor and pruning back too heavily or taking it out of the pot and dividing it ruins that. Topdress the plant with some fresh soil, and give it a llittle trimming. You can get rid of dead or dying and unattractive parts, shape it up a bit, give a few cuttings away, but then the best thing is to find a spot for it where it won't be bumped into and knocked about and let it be itself.
Because these are not really cacti, and actually grow epiphytically on trees in the rainforest, you don't have to use very sandy soil. I find mine do better in a richer, fast draining mix, a equal parts combination of orchid bark, good quality potting soil, and perlite. They also do fine out of direct sun.
